Looking over the colourful patchwork of canola fields and cropland from 3,000 feet above the ground in an aircraft with no engine definitely sounds like an adventure not meant for the faint of heart. However, when the aircraft is a two-seat training glider being piloted by an accomplished glider instructor, the experience quickly goes from frightening to exhilarating.
Valerie Deschamps, president of the Central Alberta Gliding Club, can empathize with anyone who is nervous about taking their first familiarization (FAM) flight. She remembers her own very well.
When her husband was training for his glider licence several years back, Valerie realized early on that if she wanted to see him at all on the weekends, she would need to come down to the airfield to do so. After getting to know several of the pilots and becoming familiar with the routine, Deschamps eventually decided to take her very first FAM flight.
"Before I went up that day, I was telling myself 'I can't do this! I'm afraid of heights! I'll get sick in the airplane,'" said Deschamps. "Basically the same things that many people who are going up for their first FAM flight tell us. But it turned out that it wasn't scary at all. I absolutely loved it! "
Not long after, Deschamps started training for her own gliding licence. "There is just so much to love about gliding," she said. "There is nothing like the experience of looking out your canopy and watching an eagle or a hawk sharing the same thermal you are using," referring to the rising columns of air which enable prairie glider pilots to stay aloft for longer periods of time. "It's incredible," she said.
For those who long to soar with the eagles, gliding is a very accessible alternative to flying. "You don't have to own a glider, or even know someone who owns one in order to get started," said Deschamps. "The club has gliders we rent to students on an hourly basis. Everyone learns at their own pace, based on how much time and money they personally can afford to invest in it, as well as how much time it takes them to grow their skills. All in all, the costs are considerably less than getting a pilot's licence to fly powered aircraft."
Deschamps also emphasizes how safe the sport of soaring is. "There are many, many safety procedures in place," she said, "beginning with the walk-around inspection we do of the aircraft before we go up, to the briefing required of all visitors out on the airfield, to the procedures we follow while taking off, soaring and landing. We are all very well trained in safety. It is a prerequisite."
The aircraft themselves are also very robust and safe. Passengers can rest assured in realizing that their glider is actually designed to fly without an engine, and to land in a field. "They are built to last," said Deschamps. "Especially the training models. Students put their gliders through the paces in order to learn. The gliders are very hearty."
Gliding is a team effort in many ways. "It is more difficult to launch yourself," said Deschamps. "You need a tow pilot, someone to hook up the tow rope, a wing runner to keep the wing off the runway until you build up enough speed. It can be done with fewer people, but it is much easier with a team."
Currently there are about 30 members of the Central Alberta Gliding Club, with 10 to 15 regularly seen on the field on any given weekend during the spring, summer and fall, but there is room for many more. "We are always looking for new enthusiasts," said Deschamps. "And we really encourage people who join the club to not only come out and glide, but to also stick around and help others for the afternoon. You meet some great like-minded people. Stay after flying and socialize. It becomes a little community unto itself."
The club encourages anyone who is interested to come on out, no matter what their experience level. "Gliding really is for everyone," said Deschamps. She suggested that anyone who may want to learn how to glide should sign up for a FAM flight and see if it is for them. "Or better yet, come out to our event on August 10 and find out more."
The event Deschamps is referring to is the 2nd Annual Chics Take Flight event being held at the Innisfail Airport on Aug. 10 from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Deschamps is one of the organizers of the event, which will honour women in aviation while giving everyone who is interested an opportunity to see and experience what flying can offer, both as a hobby or as a potential career.
"It is going to be a fantastic day," said Deschamps. "There will be an opportunity to fly in a glider with a licensed instructor for a very special event rate. There will be two flight simulators set up in one of the hangars as well. One simulator, provided by the Soaring Association of Canada, will utilize three 8-foot by 8-foot projection screens so you can experience what it is like to go gliding without ever leaving the ground. Of course, after you experience that, you probably will be even more eager to book an actual flight," Deschamps laughed.
"There will be a vendor area with displays from groups such as Aviation Alberta, Sky Wings Aviation Academy Ltd., Civil Air Search and Rescue Association (CASARA), Women in Aviation International, Harvard Historical Aviation Society and London Drugs."
In addition, there will be skydiving and parachute-packing demonstrations by Skydive Big Sky, a group that often operates in conjunction with the gliding club. "We are usually out here doing our thing at the same time," said Deschamps. "We need to have good communication to do that, and we are really lucky to have such a good relationship with the skydivers."
There will be aircraft on display on the day of the event, and an opportunity to meet and chat with Rosella Bjornson, a Lethbridge native, who was the first woman in North America to become a commercial airline pilot and the first Canadian woman to become captain with a commercial airline.
"Plan to make a day of it," said Deschamps. "Admission to the event itself is free, there will be food available to purchase on site, or bring a picnic, sit and watch from the viewing area. You don't have to go anywhere else -- except maybe up."
The Innisfail Airport, home of the Central Alberta Gliding Club, is located only 12 kilometres from Innisfail, travelling west on Highway 54.
For more information about Chics Take Flight, visit www.chicstakeflight.ca. To learn more about the Central Alberta Gliding Club, visit http://www.cagcsoaring.ca/.
